Mojeek Review: Is Mojeek Safe and Does It Use AI?

Is Mojeek Safe to Use?

Mojeek's own policies state that it does not track searchers, records no internet protocol (IP) addresses, and builds its own search index from the ground up. This makes it a credible choice if you want to avoid commercial tracking profiles. At the same time, Mojeek is not strictly free of artificial intelligence (AI), and the pages we read mention no independent audit of its privacy claims. Ban the Bots has not run searches on Mojeek, has not measured its result quality and has not audited its privacy claims; this review reports only what Mojeek says on its own pages, read 26 October 2026.

Here is what Mojeek says, and what is not verified:

• What Mojeek states: Mojeek does not track individuals, places no tracking cookies by default, operates its own crawler called MojeekBot, and says it is hosted at "the UK's greenest data centre".
• What is not verified: The pages we read mention no independent audit, and no user counts or revenue figures.

Who Is Behind Mojeek

Mojeek is managed by Mojeek Limited, a business registered in England under company number 06918197. According to Mojeek's About page, Mojeek was established by Marc Smith, who works as Founder and Developer. Smith began building search engine technology and intellectual property in 2004.

Mojeek states that its search technology was created from the ground up. The timeline on the company's website records first investment in 2009. That was followed by an investment from a group of private investors in 2013, and additional capital funding arrived in 2018.

Specific ownership stakes and shareholder allocations are not published on Mojeek's official pages. Mojeek notes that its corporate mission is to construct an alternative search engine that respects individual privacy while delivering its own unique results. The privacy policy says all development is in-house.

Does Mojeek Use Google?

Mojeek describes its own crawler and an index built from scratch. It operates its own crawler called MojeekBot, as documented on Mojeek's Support page. Mojeek states that it has maintained an independent search engine without tracking for more than 15 years.

Mojeek's published records show that its current web index has been crawled from scratch since 2011. Mojeek's timeline says its index passed 7 billion pages in 2023, 8 billion in 2024 and 9 billion in 2025; these are Mojeek's own figures, and we make no comparison with other engines. In 2023, Mojeek added Openverse as its Image Search provider. That same year, it launched Mojeek Safesearch in beta. Readers looking for wider index options can inspect our guide to alternative search engines.

What Mojeek Says It Logs

Mojeek outlines its data retention practices in Mojeek's privacy policy. The policy states that the site does not track its users. By default Mojeek places no cookies on your computer unless you agree to one, for example when saving preferences.

Mojeek does maintain standard logs indefinitely. IP addresses are not recorded and are replaced by a two-letter country code. The operational log files record:

• The time of visit.
• The specific web page requested.
• Possibly referral data.
• Browser software details, which are stored in a separate log file away from request records.

Mojeek's policy says server log information would not be sold or handed to third-party commercial vendors. Mojeek states that aggregate, non-identifiable search records may be used to improve results.

Does Mojeek Use AI?

Mojeek is not completely free from machine learning. In a September 2025 blog post, Mojeek wrote: "We will not replace search results with AI-generated answers." The same post says Mojeek uses AI (machine learning) where it makes sense, and describes AI as a way to help find relevant links and improve semantic matching.

Mojeek introduced Semantic Search in 2024, and that same year it launched a feature called Search Summary. Mojeek's About page does not describe how Search Summary works, and the pages we read do not say whether it can be switched off. Check Mojeek's settings and its Support page for current options. Readers seeking search engines that avoid artificial text summaries can consult our directory of search engines without AI.

How Mojeek Compares With DuckDuckGo and Kagi

Mojeek says it crawls the web independently using its own crawler, MojeekBot. The pages we read say nothing about how DuckDuckGo or Kagi build their results, so we make no index comparison.

Our detailed analysis of Kagi as a paid option is covered in our Kagi review. For readers seeking different ways to browse without tracking, our guide to DuckDuckGo alternatives outlines the wider private engine market.

How other engines handle AI is covered in our guide to DuckDuckGo with no AI. You can also read our Startpage vs DuckDuckGo explainer.

Our Takeaway on Mojeek

Mojeek is a practical option for anyone who wants an independent web index without corporate user tracking. Mojeek says it passed 9 billion indexed pages in 2025 and runs its own crawler. It fits a reader who wants a private, independent-index engine and accepts some machine learning.

Mojeek is not suitable for searchers who demand an absolute guarantee against machine learning models. Mojeek says it uses machine learning where it makes sense, added Semantic Search in 2024 and launched a Search Summary feature the same year. It is also not suitable for people who require verified third-party security audits, because the pages we read mention no independent audit, user counts or revenue figures.

Our verdict would change if Mojeek permitted an independent security firm to audit its server logs, or if it modified its stance on automated summaries. This verdict rests on what Mojeek says on its own pages, read 26 October 2026, and we have not audited it.

Alternatives to consider include alternative search engines, DuckDuckGo alternatives, Kagi (paid), and search engines without AI.